Tamim scores seven as Essex lose against Kent

Bangladesh opener Tamim Iqbal failed to fire with the bat on his Essex debut as the Eagles suffered a seven-wicket defeat at the hands of Kent Spitfires in their NatWest T20 Blast match at Kent County Cricket Ground on Sunday. Batting first, Essex posted 166 runs on the board for the loss of eight wickets in 20 overs with Tamim making seven off as many deliveries. Tamim's opening wicket partner Varun Chopra top-scored with a 38-ball 47 while middle-order batsman Ravi Bopara chipped in with a 33-ball 45. Kent seamer James Neesham was the most successful bowler for his side with three wickets. In reply, Kent reached their destination with nine balls to spare, opener Daniel Bell-Drummond blazing his way to an unbeaten 55-ball 90, featuring eight fours and half as many sixes. Essex will take on Somerset County Cricket Club in their next game at CloudFM County Ground on Thursday. The match begins at 12am, Bangladesh standard time. BRIEF SCORE Kent 169/3 in 18.3 overs (Bell-Drummond 90*, Northeast 33) beat Essex 166/8 (Chopra 47, Neesham 3/37) by seven wickets